Shoot Black & White Pictures with Your Phone

Window & Door
Fort Missoula, Montana


Did you know you can shoot black & white pictures automatically with your smartphone? Just select a black & white filter in the camera app and tap away. You can see the b&w image before you take it, so you have a better idea of whether the lighting and contrast of your subject will make a successful photo.

On a Samsung Galaxy Android phone, the filters are under the "stack" icon in the upper right of the camera screen. Tap the filters icon, then the Filters menu. At the bottom of the screen, swipe left to find the monochrome filters. There are four b&w filters to choose from: Grayscale, Classic, B&W, and Shadows. Each produces a slightly different monochrome version. For the photo at the top of this post, I used the Classic filter. 

Samsung Galaxy Filters Icon

Samsung Galaxy
Classic B&W Filter

On an iPhone, swipe up and then left to find the three overlapping circles representing the filters icon. Tap on the filters icon and swipe left to see the three choices: Mono, Silvertone, and Noir.

I recommend shooting a color picture and then one using each of the b&w filter options. That way you can pick your favorite later. Don't forget to set the filter back to Original so your next image will be in color.

Bonus tip: You can also shoot videos with a black & white filter!

Learn more about traditional digital and smartphone photography at the Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula, Montana. Fall 2024 classes are now open for registration at MissoulaClasses.com.